SCHOOLS CHIEF’S PACT DETAILED

County superintendent got $25K for retirement, more vacation with extension

County Superintendent Randy Ward received a $25,000 contribution to his retirement package and eight additional days of vacation when his contract was extended two years by the county Board of Education last month.

Ward has been the county schools chief since June 2006, when he was hired at a salary of $265,000. His performance is evaluated annually by the board and his contract has been amended seven times.

With the latest changes, Ward’s total compensation has jumped to $376,826, which includes $286,073 in salary, auto allowance, health benefits, expense allowances and the retirement contribution. Ward has received the retirement contribution every year except 2009, when he declined it, and in 2008 when he received $23,000.

Ward now is allotted 30 paid days of vacation every year, up from 22 in his previous contract.

Along with the rest of the 1,032 employees in the county Office of Education, Ward also received a one-time payment on June 30 that was equal to 1 percent of annual salary.

Under terms of his contract, the superintendent receives a salary increase equal to the rate given to the teachers who work for the county Office of Education if he receives a satisfactory job review. Ward’s contract amendments, which extend his employment to June 2017, were approved on a 4-1 vote, with Trustee Gregg Robinson opposing it.

Robinson said he voted against the measure because he wasn’t comfortable giving Ward a raise or extending his contract out four years, although he supported the $25,000 retirement credit. He said the superintendent has been making dramatic staffing and organizational changes to address a sizable budget deficit and other issues in the schools, and that his management style has upset many employees.

“Randy has shaken up the entire structure from top to bottom, but we don’t know yet” what effect that will have, Robinson said. “It is just the speed and the way it was done was my biggest concern. It was kind of rammed down people’s throats and when you make major changes like this you have to bring people along with you.”

Ward declined a request for an interview, but through a spokeswoman he released emails he sent to staff members that explained the leadership changes and reorganization were prompted by the schools’ failure to meet federal performance targets for three years as well as budget deficits.

A review by a state agency called the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team and internal reviews also found the program had a high administrator-to-student ratio, low attendance rates, weak policies and guidelines and outdated student computers.

“There isn’t a single piece of objective information saying ‘maintain the status quo.’ And the stakes are high. We’re literally talking about children’s lives,” Ward said in an email. “This is about leadership, and about making the changes necessary to fix the issues.”

Ward had all the schools’ principals resign and reapply for their jobs, competing with other candidates that applied. Five principals are new hires, while two were retained, according to district spokeswoman Music Watson.